- The Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers 2-1 to keep their hold on the 8th playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. - The Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 4-3; both teams are fighting for a playoff spot. - The Buffalo Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-3, as the Sabres cement their hold on the Northeast Division. - The Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2. - The Nashville Predators beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-2. The Predators are holding on to the 5th playoff seed in the West. - The Phoenix Coyotes won their 9th straight game, this time against the Dallas Stars in the shootout. Their current 9 game winning streak has tied a Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes franchise record. - The Atlanta Thrashers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1. The Thrashers are fighting to get in the playoffs, and the Flyers appear to be on their way out of the playoff bubble. - The Edmonton Oilers dominated the San Jose Sharks 5-1. One of my favorite quotes regarding the game: “The best way to fry fish is in oil.” Very true, very true; the Sharks relinquished their hold on the Pacific Division with this loss. Memo to the Sharks; wait until the playoffs start to start choking! - The Anaheim Ducks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-2.

In other news…..

- A huge congratulation to Teemu Selanne, my fellow Finnish countryman, for becoming the 18th NHL player to reach the 600-goal mark! In what is likely to be his last NHL season, Selanne has dealt with numerous injuries. Among other achievements, Selanne is one of three players to reach the 600 goal mark after getting the rookie of the year award; Selanne was the last player to score 70+ goals in a season; Selanne holds the Olympic hockey total points record; Selanne is only 1 goal away from tying the highest-scoring Finnish NHL player ever, Jari Kurri; Kurri, however, had the advantage of playing with Wayne Gretzky.- I hope that we can eventually include Alexander Ovechkin in that exclusive group.

A look ahead….

- The Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins play tonight; should Pittsburgh lose, the Capitals can clinch the East with a win against the Pens on Wednesday!